What’s the latest news on the car industry?

The Car Council has released its latest update to the car market report, which has revealed a dramatic drop in car sales over the last 12 months, with the number of cars sold falling from 14.9 million to just 11.3 million.

The figure is now just below the previous record of 12.2 million.

It’s the lowest since 2011, when sales fell by 6.7 per cent.

There’s been a major fall in the number, which was a result of a major reduction in the car tax, the government’s car rebate and the introduction of the $35,000 tax on imported cars. 

The decline is in part due to a huge decline in the popularity of the Hyundai Elantra, the latest car to come under the tax, and the arrival of the new Hyundai A-Type hatchback. 

The decline in sales has also been attributed to the introduction this year of the GST, which the Car Council says is making it cheaper to sell cars and is causing many manufacturers to drop their car-buying incentives. 

“While we’re seeing the lowest car sales since 2011 with the car rebate falling from 10 per cent to 6 per cent, we’ve also seen the introduction and roll out of the Goods and Services Tax, which is also making it easier to sell more cars,” says Carolyn Bennett, Car Council’s executive director.

“This has also helped drive down prices, which should be encouraging consumers to buy more cars.”

The Car Club also reported a huge drop in its membership numbers, with almost 1.3m of its members now in the bottom five per cent of the market. AAP/ABC